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The aide, Jean Becker, admitted in an email that it would be 'a while' before the former President would return home.

But
Becker insisted Bush had 'every intention of staying put' and was
getting 'unequaled' medical attention at Houston's Methodist Hospital.

Visits: Former President George W. Bush, left, has visited his father, right, in hospital on a number of occasions

'He is 88 years old, he had a terrible case of bronchitis which then triggered a series of complications, partially brought on by the fact that he also has a form of Parkinson's disease,' Becker said in the note, according to CBS News.

Sick: It was initially thought Bush would be well enough to
spend Christmas at home but he was not

'Is he sick? Yes. Does he plan on
going anywhere soon? No. He has every intention of staying put. He would
ask me to tell you to please put the harps back in the closet.'

It was initially thought Bush would
be well enough to spend Christmas at home, but a persistent fever kept
him in the hospital throughout the holidays.

Instead he was visited on Christmas by his
wife, Barbara, his son, Neil, and Neil's wife, Maria, and a grandson,
McGrath said. Bush's daughter, Dorothy, was flew into Houston from
Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday to join the family.

Becker's statement came after McGrath said the former President's health had deteriorated and that doctors had put him on a liquids-only diet.

He had said earlier in the day that the fever had gone away, but later corrected himself.

'It's an elevated fever, so it's actually gone up in the last day or two,' McGrath told The Associated Press. 'It's a stubborn fever that won't go away.'

Doctors at Methodist Hospital have run tests and are treating the fever with Tylenol, but they still haven't nailed down a cause. Bush has also been put on a liquid diet, though McGrath could not say why.

The President has been in intensive care since Sunday, and his condition is said to be 'guarded,' although he remains alert and talking with family and his doctor.

Rough year: Bush was reportedly treated at Methodist Hospital, the same facility where her husband spent two months until January 2013 being treated for bronchitis

As well as visits on Christmas Day, the
41st president has also been visited twice by his sons, George W. Bush,
the 43rd president, and Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida.

Bush and
his wife, Barbara, live in Houston during the winter and spend their
summers in a home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Being in the hospital for such a long time has not been easy for Bush, who is accustomed to being active, McGrath said. But the ex-President has said he's determined 'not to get grumpy about it.'

'He's just the most relentlessly positive person,' McGrath said, and 'he does enjoy joking with the nurses.'